Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $442.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Group 1 Automotive traded as high as $422.92 and last traded at $420.76, with a volume of 37689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.66.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $887,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $452,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 708.2% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,017,000 after buying an additional 6,048 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $376.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.